Saturday, December 10, 2005

British Dhimmi Awards 2005 Update

OK, here’s the full updated list. Nominations remain open for a couple more days and then I’ll do a short-list for voting purposes. In the meantime, make sure you go and vote at the superior, already-got-its-shit-together imitation over at Jihad Watch.

David Farr for his Islam-friendly adaptation of Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine the Great, and Simon Reade, artistic director of the Bristol Old Vic, who justified the changes by saying the original “would have unnecessarily raised the hackles of a significant proportion of one of the world’s great religions”.

The BBC for dropping its Radio 4 dramatisation of John Buchan’s Greenmantle following the London bombings because of “unsuitable and insensitive” material, i.e. stuff about nefarious Islamic plotters in London.

Dudley Council, which banned pig imagery and toys from its benefits department following a complaint by a Muslim worker. The council later backed down but their initial idiocy still deserves mention.

“Where there are two households of equal priority who qualify… we would offer to the household who would most benefit from the culturally-sensitive services.” That’s Bristol City Council promoting discrimination against non-Muslims when allocating accommodation with toilets facing away from Mecca.

Steve Green, Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire, who sent out twenty thousand 'Good faith' green ribbons for his force to wear in a show of solidarity with the Muslim community following the London bombings.

Gillian Parker, Chief Constable of Bedfordshire Police, for issuing ridiculous guidelines on how police should act during raids on Muslim homes. These include removing shoes, not interrupting prayers, avoiding the use of cameras and sniffer dogs, no touching of religious books or artefacts, and no looking at unclad women. (And making fun of it is out of order too.)

Avon and Somerset Police for prosecuting a publican whose "Porking yard" sign in his car park offended local Muslims.

Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, for banning prison officers from wearing the Cross of St George, and Chris Doyle, director of the Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding, for defending the decision and calling on England to find a new flag and a patron saint who is "not associated with our bloody past”.

The Bishop of Oxford Richard Harries, The Bishop of Coventry Colin Bennetts, The Bishop of Worcester Peter Selby, and The Bishop of Bath and Wells Peter Price, who called on Christians to apologise to Muslims for the Iraq war in a report for the Church of England. A timely propaganda boost for the Islamic fundamentalists, but not so welcome news for persecuted Christians. Just for good measure the report (PDF) was also critical of the “deeply flawed” Western liberal democratic system (with particular emphasis on America, naturally), and wanted to see political deals with the terrorists.

Helen Boaden, head of news at the BBC, for her memo telling staff not to refer to the 7/7 mass murderers as “terrorists” in case World Service listeners were offended. The instruction was followed with some enthusiasm.

Leicester University, for cancelling a talk by Muslim lesbian feminist Irshad Manji because it “feared hostile reactions from some local Muslims”.

George Galloway. Where to start with a man who defends murderous religious fanatics as martyrs? I think his recent speech in Syria sums him up nicely, showing as it does a level of dhimmitude beyond the call of duty : "[My emphasis] What your lives would be if from the Atlantic to the Gulf we had one Arab union - all this land, 300 million people, all this oil and gas and water, occupied by a people who speak the same language, follow the same religions, listen to the same Um Kulthum... The Arabs would be a superpower in the world if they had this unity … we are making a European Union which in 20 years will balance the power of the United States of America, inshallah.” Galloway’s EU hopes are based on a Muslim birth rate that is three times that of non-Muslim, and on the accession of Turkey with its (by then) 80 million-plus Muslims.

Ken Livingstone for his unstinting defence of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, that well-known moderate supporter of Palestinian suicide bombing, wife-beating, genital mutilation and the stoning of gays.

The BBC’s Middle East correspondent Orla Guerin, who can hear the words, “What I want to do most is kill Jews. It is in my blood…” and yet still conclude that it "is not about religion, or ideology, or race.”

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick for uttering such dangerously mistaken platitudes as "Islam and terrorism don't go together" following the London bombings. Who better to confirm the folly of this head-in-sand approach than Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the actual terrorists: "I and thousands like me are forsaking everything for what we believe. Our drive and motivation doesn't come from tangible commodities that this world has to offer. Our religion is Islam, obedience to the one true God Allah and following the footsteps of the final prophet messenger." As Charles Moore said in The Daily Telegraph, "...if the Metropolitan Police really believe what Brian Paddick says, if they really, truly think that the words 'Islam' and 'terrorism' must not be linked, then we have little hope of catching the killers, of understanding how the terrorism works, or of preventing new atrocities."

Foreign Secretary Jack Straw for overseeing the growing Islamisation of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Appeasement is the watchword once again. The likes of Qaradawi must be allowed into Britain because refusal "... could turn Muslim opinion further against the UK and encourage some to move to violence against British targets." Failure to admit Turkey’s vast Muslim population into the European Union would be “too terrible to contemplate". Far better to realise Galloway’s dream of an EU with Islamic influence to the fore, apparently.

Straw, the FCO, and everyone else on this list should be reminded of Churchill's response to Chamberlain following the Munich Agreement in 1938:

"This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigour, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in olden time."